Ed White Elementary Watershed Mural, 2001
Located in the school yard habitat at Ed White Elementary, Seabrook,Texas
Initial drawing (18” * 24”, pastel) The pastel sketched by Bejat McCracken was created for the students of Ed White Elementary to view as an example when requesting the call for entries. The wetland habitat section of the mural was created as an ode to John James Audubon's Roseata Spoonbill and was thus reflected in the final mural. This sketch was donated and hangs to this day in the school’s main entry.
Galen Kruetzberg was an instrumental 3rd grade student at Ed White Elementary, who was one of 348 students to submit drawings of native flora and fauna, for the school yard habitat mural. Her particular piece depicts all the stages of the monarch butterfly's metamorphosis as it sustains itself on butterfly weed. The children raise these butterflies and release them in the school yard habitat. Here they can observe the butterfly's diverse life cycles in the wild. Therefore the monarch butterfly was selected to showcase on the corner of the two adjoining mural walls.
Initially, the children submitted 348 native flora and fauna drawings in a call for entries requested by the artist in residence, Bejat McCracken. The children were requested to research and observe natives species of the Seabrook area. The artist assisted by placing books on reserve at several local libraries as well as the school library.
Once the drawings were submitted, Bejat selected key drawings to be depicted within the mural habitat as they appeared in their original submissions by these key students. She began to itemize the rest by their dominant flora or fauna submitted. After becoming extremely familiar with the work she began to sketch a to scale drawing of the mural with all the children's images and ideas in mind. This allowed for every child to have their work contribute to the final mural. "The children understood that in order to make the mural work as a whole I would have to combine ideas. That the field of bluebonnets represented all the children's submitted drawings of a single bluebonnet, for instance." -Bejat McCracken
Colton Krenek was one of many talented 1st grade students. Instrumental in the entire process of the mural, Colton worked throughout the summer on the bobcat. Colton also became one of Bejat's private art students that she instructs in her studio. "Colton is a prodigy, he loves flora and fauna as much as I do and he helps me see images in a different light. His attention to detail is amazing and his talent is far beyond his years." -Bejat McCracken
Press Release: THE CITIZEN, June 27, 2001 The Environmental Committee at Ed White Elementary School held a reception to celebrate the start of Ed White Elementary's wetland habitat and watershed mural project. Pictured at the reception are: Galen Kreutzberg, Allison Bigi, Bejat McCracken, artist in residence, Colton Krenek, and Brandon Schmalfeldl.
Once wall is taped off, students K-5th grade can freely paint in sky and foreground.
The children found great joy in ripping all the tape off the wall. "It was like one big party, they were jumping around hysterically all entwined in tape laughing. It was hilarious." -Bejat McCracken
As an artist in residence, Bejat was able to pull 5-7 students ranging from K-5th grade from art class throughout the coarse of the school day to work on the mural.
Midway through the mural the hot Texas summer was upon Bejat and her recruited summer crew from Ed White Elementary. Several layers of paint were on the wall, which also included using impasto methods to attach real bark from old stumps of dead trees that were found on the school grounds. Pearlescent and iridescent paints shimmer in the sun. All species depicted are exquisitely detailed to provide complete recognition and identification.
Wetland habitat (8' * 14', acrylic) Created by the children of Ed White Elementary in collaboration with environmental artist in residence, Bejat McCracken. The Wetland Habitat is adorned with one of the most vibrant and prolific coastal wading birds of the area, like the roseate spoonbill. "As an ode to John James Audubon, the coloration of the roseate spoonbill and placement amongst the coastal cord grass and marsh fleabane is representative of his work and was initially depicted in the pastel drawing I produced and exhibited at Ed White Elementary to inspire the children to submit work. This piece, which I later donated to Ed White, did not include the various other species. They were inspired by the children, like the white pelican perched on driftwood, which is an infamous symbol of Seabrook. Shortly after the use of DDT in the area, Pelicans and other various coastal birds were extinct to the area, but in recent years both brown and white pelicans have returned to make Seabrook their home." - Bejat McCracken
Prairie habitat (8’ * 14’, acrylic) The children’s drawings were melded into this larger scale mural where a bobcat is dominate perched in the bark collaged trees to the right. All species in the mural correspond to numbers that label each species by common name on a sign sitting before the mural. The burrowing owl gazes out inquisitively as an armadillo rushes off and the Gulf fritillary visits the plume thistle. The habitat is alive as the students learn how species interact.
The Final Mural
